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The StyleBlueprint crew is keen about spreading the gospel of the South. The historical past, the meals, the attractive landscapes, the proficient creators. But nobody is extra keen about inviting people to expertise the great thing about their house states than the ladies and men who make journey their enterprise.
Today, get to know three FACES of the Southern journey trade: three of the South’s main journey administrators. Rochelle Hicks is Visit Mississippi‘s Director of Tourism, Rita McClenney is President & CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation, and Dalaney Thomas is Director of Arkansas Tourism. These powerhouse women are leading the charge for their states — and we’re ALL reaping the advantages.
Rochelle Hicks | Director of Tourism, Visit Mississippi
Rochelle Hicks grew up in Natchez and is aware of Mississippi inside and outside. “Tourism has been part of my story for as long as I can remember,” she says. “Growing up in the Natchez area, I saw firsthand how visitors contribute to local communities and economies. My parents owned a gift shop, which gave me an early appreciation for hospitality and the importance of creating memorable experiences.”
Rochelle spent greater than a decade with the Ridgeland Tourism Commission, later served as govt director of the Mississippi Tourism Association, and labored in nonprofit development earlier than becoming a member of Visit Mississippi in August 2023. “Across each role, my focus has remained the same: showcasing the people, places, and experiences that make Mississippi special,” she tells us.
What do you’re keen on most about working within the journey trade?
Travel creates pleasure, significant connections, and lasting recollections. It additionally helps protect and share the traditions that make Southern communities distinctive. From family-owned eating places and native festivals to historic downtowns and stay music venues, tourism helps native companies, creates jobs, and strengthens communities throughout Mississippi.
Introducing somebody to the state for the primary time and watching them expertise our tradition and hospitality is extremely rewarding.
What’s one thing you want extra folks knew about your state?
I want extra folks realized how deeply Mississippi has influenced Southern and American tradition. As the birthplace of America’s music, our state has roots in blues, nation, gospel, and rock ‘n’ roll that proceed to form artists and genres worldwide.
Mississippi can be house to a rare literary legacy, influential civil rights historical past, numerous landscapes, and culinary traditions that mirror generations of cultural change.
What usually surprises first-time guests is the depth and authenticity of the experiences they discover right here. From the Delta and the Gulf Coast to small cities and vibrant cities, every area presents its personal tales, traditions, and sense of place.
You’re internet hosting a first-time customer who solely has ONE DAY within the state of Mississippi. What’s the final word itinerary?
- We would begin the day in Natchez or Vicksburg with a spectacular dawn over the Mississippi River and a tour of those two lovely historic cities. From there, we’d journey via the Delta to expertise the birthplace of the blues in Clarksdale, visiting stops alongside the Mississippi Blues Trail and the GRAMMY Museum.
- We’d take pleasure in lunch at a enjoyable native eatery or at one in every of our Michelin-recognized eating places, after which make our option to Jackson to go to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum for an unforgettable have a look at our state’s historical past and influence.
- We’d end the day with stay music and dinner on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, having fun with a stunning sundown whereas eating on unimaginable native seafood.
It’s inconceivable to see every part Mississippi has to supply in someday, however you may definitely expertise the tradition, historical past, music, and hospitality that outline our state. (And it is best to undoubtedly plan to remain for a number of days!)
Lightning Round!
Best piece of recommendation: Relationships matter. Treat folks with kindness, keep curious, and by no means underestimate the ability of listening.
Favorite journey hack: I like to recommend downloading vacation spot apps and constructing a versatile itinerary that leaves time for surprising discoveries.
Favorite latest learn (or podcast!): My newest learn is The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, the Mississippi-born creator greatest identified for The Help. I take pleasure in books that mix compelling characters with a robust sense of place — particularly tales that seize Southern life.
My favourite podcast (shameless plug) is Mississippi on the Map. It highlights the folks, locations, tales, and experiences that make our state distinctive.
Rita McClenney | President & CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation
Rita McClenney was born and raised in Southampton County, VA, and whereas she had stints dwelling in New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, her coronary heart has all the time remained in Virginia. Before she stepped into her function as President & CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation, she served because the state’s Film Commissioner for 20 years, recruiting initiatives to be filmed within the Commonwealth — together with notable titles like Minority Report, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, and Hannibal!
What do you’re keen on most about working within the journey trade?
Travel connects folks to locations and to 1 one other, and I’m impressed by the function tourism performs in telling Virginia’s story, inviting guests to expertise the state whereas supporting native companies and locations. Working in tourism and journey permits me to focus on what makes Virginia distinctive, strengthen communities throughout the Commonwealth, and share the satisfaction we now have on this place with the world.
What’s one thing you want extra folks knew about your state?
Virginia is the location of the primary Thanksgiving at Berkeley Plantation AND house to the primary Black cultural middle — Jackson Ward in Richmond, Virginia.
You’re internet hosting a first-time customer who solely has ONE DAY within the state of Virginia. What’s the final word itinerary?
- Visit Chincoteague Island to see the Assateague ponies throughout the water.
- Spend the night on a useless rise boat! Go with a waterman to reap oysters and roast them upon returning, paired with a Virginia Rosé wine from The Dog and Oyster.
Lightning Round!
Favorite journey hack: Pack gentle, take not more than two pairs of sneakers. Never ever verify baggage, all the time carry-on.
Favorite latest learn (or podcast!): Atlas Obscura — discovering hidden journey gems and oddities
Best piece of recommendation: Someone might not keep in mind what you mentioned. They will, nevertheless, all the time keep in mind the way you made them really feel.
Dalaney Thomas | Director of Arkansas Tourism
A lifelong Little Rock resident, Dalaney Thomas is completely positioned to inform the Arkansas story. “For the last decade, my work has focused on strengthening and supporting The Natural State’s tourism and hospitality sector,” says Dalaney. “Before joining Arkansas Parks, Heritage & Tourism, I led the state’s marketing efforts at our advertising agency, collaborating closely with partners across the industry.”
What do you’re keen on most about working within the journey trade?
The folks. Arkansans are a number of the kindest people you’ll meet, and if you look particularly on the individuals who make up our journey trade, you discover an unimaginable mixture of heat, hospitality, creativity, and innovation.
Tourism is Arkansas’s second‑largest trade, with greater than 70,000 folks working throughout tourism and hospitality. What I really like most is understanding my work finally helps them.
What’s one thing you want extra folks knew about your state?
Arkansas is named The Natural State for a motive, and the broader out of doors group has taken discover. We’re house to America’s first nationwide river, the Buffalo National River; the oldest federally protected land within the National Park System, Hot Springs National Park; Stuttgart, the Duck Capital of the World; Bentonville, the Mountain Bike Capital of the World; and waterways and nationwide forest lands that supply a number of the premier pure areas within the nation.
You’re internet hosting a first-time customer who solely has ONE DAY within the state of Arkansas. What’s the final word itinerary?
Asking a tourism director to select only one factor to do is a bit like asking somebody to decide on a favourite youngster — but when I needed to choose an expertise that may make a primary‑time customer wish to return, I’d ship them to Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas’s first state park. Visitors can tackle traditional hikes just like the path to Cedar Falls — one in every of Arkansas’s most spectacular waterfalls — or go for guided adventures via Frontier Climbing.
This summer season, the renovated Petit Jean Lodge will reopen with refreshed consolation and appeal. The park can be debuting Arkansas’s second by way of ferrata* — the one one situated inside a state park wherever within the nation. And with new mountain bike trails slated to open this fall, Petit Jean’s lineup of journey choices continues to develop.
Editor’s Note: A by way of ferrata is a protected mountaineering route outfitted with mounted cables, iron rungs, ladders, and suspension bridges.
Lightning Round!
Favorite journey hack: My favourite journey hack is definitely working within the journey trade. I’m lucky to know tourism administrators throughout the nation — together with the unimaginable ladies featured on this roundup — they usually’ve develop into my constructed‑in guides every time I go to their states. Their suggestions all the time lead me to the most effective experiences, the hidden gems, and the spots you’d by no means discover on an ordinary journey listing.
Before you go to a state or vacation spot, attempt to join with somebody within the tourism area and ask them the place to go and what to do. There’s nothing fairly like getting insider recommendation from somebody who lives and breathes the place you’re about to discover.
Favorite latest learn (or podcast!): In the summer season, I all the time discover myself reaching for an Emily Henry novel … I additionally extremely suggest The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. He makes a compelling case that the rise in psychological well being challenges in teenagers is tied to the shift from play‑primarily based to cellphone‑primarily based childhoods. It’s a thought‑scary learn that underscores simply how vital it’s to spend day off our screens and outside.
Best piece of recommendation: The greatest recommendation I’ve ever acquired is to restrict using “I.” We succeed as a crew. It might sound easy, however in skilled environments, utilizing “we” reinforces that progress is shared and that each win is the results of partnership.
Tourism, particularly, is constructed on collaboration — no single particular person carries the work alone. That mindset has stayed with me all through my profession: don’t take the credit score, have a good time as a crew. It creates belief, camaraderie, and a stronger trade total.
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This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its unique location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://styleblueprint.com/everyday/women-travel-director/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us
